"No, Carter didn't cause the inflation but his policies did little to change the course of the economy in any positive way...And yes, I implied things were pretty bad during his years..."
Well, the stagflation sure wasn't as a result of his budget deficits... because they look fairly innocuous from our later-day vantage point. The inflation spiral began in the sixties with LBJ's twin wars (and his federal borrowing), accelerated through the Nixon years with abandonment of the gold standard, continued unwise federal spending, ridiculous wage / price 'freezes', and the twin oil shocks at both ends of the '70s.
I'd argue that --- while political failures of will, and bad government policies were major contributors to inflation's rise --- even more important was the pitiful mismanagement by the Fed in the '70s and late '60s.
"Comparing growth rates and other data in the two periods is pretty meaningless, especially when you assess the mood of the country, runaway inflation and choking interest rates...We are leaps and bounds ahead of that time now."
<G> I agree that advances have certainly been made (but also retreats....)
And, I believe I showed with the statistics I posted that --- in many measurable respects --- quantitatively some things are worse now.
"If you want to argue that conditions of the two periods are similar, try it some where else.... because it will not wash with me."
No, I never argued that. Carter came at the end of a multi-decade period of inflation and stagnation... we are perhaps at the begining of such a period now, not the end.
So, in that most important respect, the periods are quite different. (With ONE GLARING similarity though: America has STILL not gotten serious about addressing it's unhealthy reliance upon Middle Eastern oil... in fact we are EVEN MORE RELIANT upon it now, then we were in the '70s.) |
